Q. What is the difference between cast iron and malleable iron?

A. There are many types of cast iron. Black ironmongery is available generally in grey, (cast), iron, SG, (Spheroidal Graphite), and malleable iron.

Grey iron, although relatively easy and cheap to cast, is extremely brittle, in thin sections especially, and cannot be rivetted, hammered or assembled with any ease.

SG iron, although more durable than grey iron is difficult to cast into thin sections and this precludes its use in many of our products. In addition it does not possess the inherent toughness of malleable iron which is vital in the everyday use of our door and window furniture.

Malleable Iron is an iron which, after casting, is subjected to a heat treatment process known as annealing. In this process castings are heated to around 1000C for up to 100 hours whilst in contact with haematite ore. The ore acts as an oxidising agent which removes carbon from the casting. It is the presence of carbon in cast iron which causes its brittleness and removing some makes the casting stronger or more malleable.

Q. How will I know whether the product I am considering buying is malleable iron?

A. In most cases you won’t. We have seen many instances of products being passed off as being malleable iron when, in fact, they turn out to be grey iron. You may become suspicious when the product breaks. To make absolutely certain go to a knowledgeable distributor or stockist and ask for Kirkpatrick by name.

Q. Can I be certain that the product supplied is manufactured by Kirkpatrick?

A. When specifying our products ensure that our name is on the packaging. Using a recommended stockist will always help ensure that you obtain genuine Kirkpatrick products.

Q. How easy is it to obtain quick delivery of your products?

A. With over 2500 items in our current catalogue it is always going to be difficult to hold stocks of each one. Whereas most businesses in this day and age try to minimise their stocks we do endeavour to hold as much in stock as we possibly can so that if our stockists are out of stock then we can replenish them as quickly as possible.

Q. Do you sell direct with the general public?

A. No, we do not. As manufacturers we are simply not geared up to supplying small, one-off orders. We have stockists throughout the UK who will be able to offer specialist advice on all aspects of architectural ironmongery. Please contact us if you need details of your nearest stockist.